


Not Her Brother's Keeper

by Ailelie



Category: Fairy Tales and Related Fandoms
Genre: East of the Sun West of the Moon, F/F, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-25
Updated: 2010-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-14 02:32:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailelie/pseuds/Ailelie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John, the heir, often got into trouble. She, his sister, always cleaned up his messes. But now he's entangled with a curse, a lovely troll princess, a clever girl, and a long-known destiny. She decides to use this incident to escape her role as his Keeper for once and for all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Her Brother's Keeper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aquila](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquila/gifts).



> This treat is inspired by East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Thanks to athenejen for the fantastic beta job.

John disappeared; that was the beginning. And she whose name was most certainly _not_ Keeper of John was dispatched to do exactly that. For of all the king's horses and men, only John's sister could ever find and put him together again.

She rather resented the extent to which her identity rested upon that of her brother He was the Troublesome Heir. She was his Minder, Keeper, and Equal in Battle. She was, she thought, more than his Equal, but that was not comforting to the people, nor becoming of a woman.

Did she care? Debatable. Did she want to care? No. But those were thoughts and arguments for another day. First and foremost was always her brother and once again, dearest John was missing—

—but not, as the advisors thought, mysteriously or without a trace. John was not clever enough to manage that. And, even if he was, he'd left her a note. He always left her a note, even when he knew she'd only use it to fetch him back home.

So, while the kingdom panicked, she strapped on her sturdiest shoes and set out for the kingdom of the trolls, east of the sun and west of the moon.

Her brother, she found, locked in the library with the troll princess. They were arguing over the efficacy of curses and the inevitability of destiny. John was destined to marry a poor woman and make her his queen. For this reason he was exceptionally popular within the kingdom and constantly running from bridal tests and ornate balls filled with every woman from within and beyond the kingdom walls.

She waited in the shadows of the library and listened. Her normal course of action was to confront John and take him home. In the past she'd dueled him with swords or riddles, drugged and dragged him, or incited a minor coup against the harboring kingdom, forcing him to flee and seek shelter at home. She took pride in her handiwork, but she was tired of always going and fetching and wearing out endless pairs of shoes.

So this time she decided to try something new. She stepped from the shadows and proposed a test: John's destiny versus a curse from troll royalty. The troll princess looked down her long nose and tapped a tapered nail to full, dark lips. "I would take that bet," she said. Her eyes twinkled.

And so it was set. John became a bear with a conflicting curse and destiny. As he set out into the world, all the entities began wagering. She wrote home to the kingdom, told them not to worry, and promised that John would bring a bride upon his return. For the next three years she divided her time between the kingdom and the strange troll princess. She no longer fetched or tended her brother; she was becoming someone separate and unique. The troll princess proved, more than her brother (no matter what the people might say), her Equal in every way.

Then John returned.

"You win," he said to his sister and the troll princess. "The curse has bested my destiny."

Three years ago John would have been delighted, but now he was only resigned. He locked himself in the library and lost himself in stories, once again running away.

The sister, however, did what she had always done. "Wait for me," she said to the troll princess. "Find some way to stall." Then she strapped on her sturdiest shoes and set out to fix John's mess.

John had indeed married a poor girl. Though the marriage was not yet binding, thanks to the curse, she still wondered how he'd not realized the triumph of his destiny in that moment. The girl was, as the terms of the curse demanded, wearing out her iron shoes seeking her lost husband. The sister watched from a distance with growing pleasure.

The girl did not have strong shoes made. She chose the poorest grade of iron and commissioned the thinnest of soles, barely thick as parchment and strapped over her feet with delicate chains. She walked through every stream and danced outdoors whenever it rained, encouraging rust. And, she sought help from winds and spirits who would know about the troll kingdom, rather than from flesh and blood. The girl was worthy of being queen.

The sister went ahead of her and eased her passage. "This is the girl my brother should marry," she'd say. "Help her, but not too much." Then she returned to the troll princess, brushed her hair, and promised that everything would turn out as it should.

John remained deep within the library.

The sister sought out a pair of missionaries and gave them their lines. When the girl arrived, they welcomed her and told her that her husband was locked up (though not that he'd chosen his cell) and that the troll princess was to marry him (though not that she, too, was bound by the curse she now regretted). The girl followed the instructions the winds had given her and set out golden wares to entrance the troll princess.

The troll princess acted her part perfectly. The girl bought a night with John. (John refused to leave the library, so they were forced to drug him. This added verisimilitude, but at the cost of efficiency and increased risk of their plan failing. Eventually, she'd gone to the missionaries and begged them once more to help keep the young couple from ruin).

When her brother finally realized she'd not lied about his bride being in the kingdom, he went to the troll princess's chamber willingly and met with the girl. All night the sister listened to them devise a plan; she was pleased how this girl spurred her brother toward thinking and action.

The next morning, when her brother called for a bridal test, as she'd known he would, she gave the troll princess a vial of ink and a kiss and a promise. Then she stepped back and, for what she hoped would be the last time, watched her brother's life shape her own.

John and his bride left. The sister remained. She washed the ink from the troll princess's hands and kissed each water-wrinkled fingertip.

"What now?" the troll princess asked.

She considered. Her brother and kingdom no longer needed her. She had fulfilled her destiny, and whatever she'd left undone, John's wife could complete. "For now," she said, "let's return to your tower. You can tell me my name."

The troll princess blushed, but agreed. They walked up to the high tower room together, rearranged the pillows, and locked the door.

 


End file.
